NASA helps lung disease research

WASHINGTON, May 20 (UPI) -- U.S. space agency scientists have met with researchers from medical fields to discuss NASA data that might be helpful in better understanding lung disease.

The Sunday event held by the American Thoracic Society in Toronto -- "Observations From Space: A Unique Vantage Point for the Study of the Environment and Possible Associations with Disease Occurrence" -- involved scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the University of Alabama.

Officials said the meeting provided an overview of public health projects that are using data from NASA satellites tracking air quality, climate, vegetation and flooding. In one project, NASA satellites are tracking vegetation and air movement in the southwestern United States, producing information that's being used in studies of pollen and asthma, said Douglas Rickman, lead scientist for applied science applications at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

NASA said it is also working with the University of Alabama to add environmental data to a study of 30,000 people across the nation. The study's goal is to discover the reasons for a higher-than-average stroke rate across the southeastern United States.